AI Magic in Education: The Customer Service Revolution
Automatic Magic: Using AI for Customer Service
30% of parents no longer know where to go when they have questions for their district.
Over the past several years, there’s been a change in K-12 expectations. thanks to:
Political pressures
Technological transformations
Social media and the rise of non-traditional communications methods
Amazon-level customer service expectations
Today, school districts operate in an economy of trust. In order to make withdrawals from your trust account, you have to spend time making regular deposits first. When you have deposited trust into that “account”, you have a little more leeway to make tough decisions without launching a crisis of confidence in your leadership.
Did you know? 94% of parents expect a response to their email within 24 hours.48% of parents expect a response to their email within 6 hours.15% of parents expect a response to their email within 60 minutes.
But how can we meet these rising expectations? The old prescription for trust-building was “communicate more” or “communicate better.”
Communication is still critical, of course — but most districts do an incredible job of getting communications sent out with a moment’s notice. Most likely, you could have a message out to every single one of your parents in the next five minutes if necessary.
But when you “turn the megaphone around”, it can be a bit messier. Most school districts don’t have a clear, consistent, and reliable way to manage inbound communications.
And that’s because inbound communications are messy! You have multiple stakeholder groups, even more channels of communication, and still more people internally who hold the answers to incoming questions. And for that reason, your community might not always know who or where to go to find answers.
With that in mind, let’s talk about the new, proven approach that’s helping hundreds of school districts nationwide revolutionize the way they meet and exceed expectations: A formal, districtwide, generative AI-powered customer service program.
Customer service is how you make someone feel throughout the decision-making journey (and after they make their decision)
That means not just when they have a question, but when they analyze how connected to they feel to the district community, when they’re considering where to send their children to school, and when they’re recommending districts to their friends and neighbors.
Today’s parents have sky-high expectations for the customer experience at every stage — from saying good-bye to their child on the first day of kindergarten to watching them shake their superintendent’s hand at graduation. Each moment must be considered through the stakeholder’s lens.
Transforming your district’s customer service requires:
Realistic, expertise-driven systemic thinking
True prioritization
Comprehensive, districtwide culture change management
Metrics and data to drive decision-making
Streamlining systems: Using AI for customer service
In the age of school choice, staff shortages, and political polarization, high-quality customer service is the best defense for school districts — and that requires “systems-oriented” thinking.
Traditional school district operations exist in silos. Transportation processes are separate from HR, communications, or enrollment management — not to mention the totally different IT ticketing platform.
A customer-centric school district utilizes one omnichannel, chatbot-enabled support system for every department, bringing all incoming and outgoing communications into one, unified inbox.
So, how can you use AI for customer service?
Beyond the classroom: AI is revolutionizing customer service
We’ve all heard how generative AI is going to transform K-12, but nearly every new release is centering on the classroom. There are anti-plagiarism efforts, writing tools, AI-powered tools for students with IEPs, teacher assistance gadgets, you name it.
There’s something missing from the conversation: How can AI help you in your role as a district leader? And how can we use AI for customer service?
Teaching and learning tools will continue to evolve, but there are solutions out there right now, today, that are helping leaders streamline communications and automate processes at the district level.
For example:
AI-powered keyword routing can send incoming inquiries to the right department automatically, without staff interference, ensuring the right people answer the right questions.
Automated escalations and workflows can ensure no message goes unanswered.
Automatic translation features for your website and “Contact us” pages/forms could be game-changing for communicating with families of English language learners.
- Generative AI-powered chatbots are an invaluable AI solution for K-12 school districts. A generative AI chatbot in education can ensure 24/7 support for your stakeholders, from students and parents to staff members seeking W2s or password reset options.
Using an AI chatbot in education
The private sector has been using AI chatbots for years — now it’s time to think about live chat for schools!
K12 Insight’s generative AI-powered chatbot provides a superior chatbot experience without hallucinations, answers are cited and it’s highly secure. It’s easier than ever to deliver instant and accurate answers — and in three easy steps, you can have your chatbot live on your website.
Gather web pages, documents, and other information you want to use.
Upload to your chatbot’s Resource Center.
Turn on your chatbot to begin delivering accurate, fast, and friendly responses.
Start delivering superior, generative AI-powered customer service in your school district
If you’re feeling behind in the adoption of AI for your school district or want to know how it can uplevel your customer service, you’re in the right place. Just click here to see a live demo of K12 Insight’s chatbot or connect with one of our K-12 customer service experts.
FAQs: What is AI for customer service?
How can K-12 school districts use generative AI for customer service? Chatbots help K-12 leaders take AI beyond the classroom — there’s a new line of defense for districtwide operations!
Do you have any examples of school districts successfully using AI for customer service? Check out Robbinsdale Area Schools’ utilization of an AI-powered chatbot and how Scottsdale Unified School District is streamlining communication chaos with automated workflows.
Why does customer service matter for K-12 school districts? A new study published by researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas at San Antonio found public schools can reverse student attrition and revitalize themselves by embracing a customer-focused approach.
How can K-12 leaders make sure they’re improving customer service districtwide? Here’s how to measure success — three customer service ROI metrics for school leaders.